1. Field of Invention
This invention is directed to strobe illumination.
2. Description of Related Art
Imaging systems are widely used to inspect workpieces as they are transported through a manufacturing process. Equipment such as machine vision inspection systems often capture images of the workpieces using a camera, for example, and process the captured images to verify various workpiece dimensions by identifying edges of relevant features in the images.
The location where an edge is detected within an array of image data is highly dependent on lighting of the workpiece during image capture. Edge artifacts or edge-shifting may be created by lighting-specific shadows cast due to improper illumination of the workpiece. To increase productivity, workpieces are often kept in motion even during image capture. This places an additional burden on illumination systems to minimize blurring caused by the motion. Such factors frequently limit the accuracy with which the edge of a feature can be located within an image and/or the velocity that can be tolerated during image capture. Thus, improvements in workpiece illumination technology are very desirable.